There's little question it was a bad idea.

A photo of a Watching Hills Regional High School student has been circulating online — with the teen in blackface at a Halloween party, standing alongside another who some 'netizens say was there as his "slavemaster," and some say was in an unrelated costume ... maybe Indiana Jones. In any case, it's a bad look for at least one of them, maybe both.

Jim Gearhart doesn't dispute any of that in in this week's episode of his weekly Facebook Live show and podcast.

But what he doesn't get: If this wasn't at a school function, if it wasn't on school grounds, if it wasn't in any way tied to the school ... why is the school getting involved?

As reported by our own Dan Alexander, officials in Watchung Hills Regional High School offered voluntary diversity awareness discussions in light of the picture's discovery.

From Dan's report: Watchung Hills Regional High School Superintendent Elizabeth Jewett in a letter posted on the district website condemned the costume in the "strongest terms possible" and said the school would engage in "difficult conversations around diversity, equity, tolerance and inclusion within our district and the community at large."

School officials have also acknowledged law enforcement got looped in, though it's not exactly clear what role they played.

But should school officials be getting involved in a non-school matter?

"That just totally flies in the face of everything we've always believed," Jim says in this week's installment of the show, live on Facebook every Thursday at 10:30 a.m., and available here as a podcast every week.

He continues: "Nobody would say that it's none of your damn business. ... I guess we did. We just finished doing that."

Got an idea for an upcoming installment of Jim's show? Meet Jim at Facebook.com/NJ1015 to suggest it in the comments, or email Jim@nj1015.com.

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That's just part of what Jim and Bob Williams take on in the latest installment of his show, also available as a podcast. Check out the full episode to hear the rest.

The Jim Gearhart Podcast is available every week on New Jersey 101.5 and in the New Jersey 101.5 app. You can also subscribe with your favorite podcasting app for iPhones, Android devices or your computer:

Love Podcasts? This week, on Speaking Podcast: Which is better ... the East Coast or the West Coas?

— New Jersey 101.5 staff

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